All 11 wards that make up the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council have now been decided.
Already declared last week were Kate Roper in Beek Beek Ward, Anthony Marsh in Briars Ward, Stephen Batty in Kackeraboite Ward, and Bruce Ranken in Moorooduc Ward. Last Friday (8 November), preferences were distributed for a further five wards where no single candidate polled greater than fifty percent of the primary votes. That resulted in the declaration of Max Patton in Benbenjie Ward, Patrick Binyon in Brokil Ward, David Gill in Coolart Ward, Paul Pingiaro in Tanti Ward and Cam Williams in Tootgarook Ward.
On Monday (11 November), the final round of preference distribution resulted in the declaration of Andrea Allen in Nepean Ward and Michael Stephens in Warrangine Ward.
A notable absence from the elected representatives is Antonella Celi, who bows out of council after losing Tootgarook Ward to Williams. Celi served as a councillor for over fourteen years, including stints as mayor and deputy mayor. Another notable absence is balanced gender representation with only two female councillors elected across the 11 wards. This is at odds with the last council where seven of the 11 representatives were women.
In other developments, newly elected councillor for Kackeraboite, Stephen Batty, told The News he had resigned his Liberal Party role as chairman of the Dunkley electorate. Batty would not elaborate, but said there were “a number of reasons” for his departure, but that his “number one priority is to represent the people of the peninsula and ensure that council concentrates on local issues.”
Also notable is the number of new councillors, with only three of the 11 newly elected councillors having served in the last council. Councillors will be sworn in at the council meeting on Tuesday 19 November
First published in the Mornington News – 12 November 2024
